SCAIThe MSCAI designation was developed to recognize SCAI Fellows who have recognized by their peers as "having demonstrated excellence in invasive/interventional cardiology over a career, manifested by a commitment to the highest levels of clinical care, innovation, publication and teaching." Once each year, a new group of Fellows will be awarded MSCAI status. SCAI Fellows may nominate themselves or be nominated by another SCAI Fellow. Don't wait! The 2015 online submission deadline is Oct. 31.

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TCTMDBioresorbable scaffolds provide acceptable mid-term outcomes in high-risk diabetic patients with complex lesions, according to a small registry study published online Aug. 13 ahead of print in Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions. Investigators led by Jens Wiebe, MD, of the University of Giessen (Giessen, Germany), looked at 120 diabetic patients (median age 67 years; 26.7 percent women) — 35 percent of them insulin dependent — who received an Absorb BVS in 127 lesions at a single center between October 2012 and September 2014. "BRS constitute a prudent alternative to DES," the authors say, citing a recent randomized trial that provided equivalent clinical results and benefits like late lumen enlargement and restoration of vasomotion. They note that diabetics in particular might benefit from BRS dissolution because no metallic remnants are left behind to cause chronic inflammation or aggravate existing inflammation. Another potential advantage of BRS resorption is that future CABG is not precluded, Dr. Wiebe and colleagues add. READ MORE

TCTMDRecent improvements in TAVR devices and techniques have led to declines in the average length of hospital stay. But while two to three days is rapidly becoming the norm for some patients at more experienced U.S. centers, a surprising case report — published online July 21 ahead of print in Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions — raises the question of whether an overnight stay is even necessary for some patients. READ MORE

Cardiovascular Business A prediction model developed by researchers in Boston found that anticoagulation treatment, frequency of emergency department visits before the procedure and anxiety were associated with early hospital readmission after patients underwent PCI.
Lead researcher Jason H. Wasfy, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues published their results in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes Aug. 18.READ MORE

Medscape For patients who develop in-stent restenosis following PCI with a drug-eluting stent, treatment with an everolimus-eluting stent yields the best angiographic and clinical outcomes, with lower risks of restenosis and need for revascularization compared with other therapies.
The use of a drug-coated balloon is second in terms of angiographic and clinical effectiveness, while balloon angioplasty, vascular brachytherapy, rotoablation and bare-metal stents are not effective treatments for managing patients with in-stent restenosis.READ MORE

TCTMDElderly patients with comorbid conditions and extensive coronary disease previously thought to put them at extreme risk for PCI can achieve favorable outcomes with low rates of adverse events when a left ventricular assist device is employed during revascularization, according to results published online Aug. 15 ahead of print in the American Heart Journal.READ MORE

TCTMDRadiation exposure to the cranium is higher on the left than on the right side for cardiologists doing invasive procedures, though this difference can be attenuated by wearing a nonlead-based cap in the cath lab, according to a study published in the Aug. 17 issue of JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions.READ MORE

Medscape For patients with atrial fibrillation treated with surgical ablation, nearly 80 percent were free from the arrhythmia and two out of every three were free from AF without the use of antiarrhythmic medications at five years, according to the results of a new analysis.
The late outcomes, reported by Dr. Matthew Henn and colleagues, are retrospective and based on procedures performed at a single center but are consistent with the "good early and midterm results" of patients undergoing surgical ablation with the Cox-Maze IV procedure.READ MORE

TCTMDWomen make up less than 5 percent of practicing interventional cardiologists in the United States and tend to have a lower PCI case volume than their male counterparts, according to a registry study published online Aug. 10 ahead of print in Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions. Even so, in-hospital mortality rates are similarly low for patients treated by high- and low-volume female operators.
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Healio Patients without obstructive CAD after an MI had similar angina burden to those with obstructive CAD in an analysis published in European Heart Journal. Strategies to address quality of life and health are necessary to address the burden of angina in this patient population, as they are ineligible for revascularization, the researchers wrote.
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